


Hey Jude

by ofstormsandwolves



Series: if music be the food of love [3]
Category: Bella and the Boys (2004), Takin' Over the Asylum
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Foster Care, Hospitals, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-12-01 09:49:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11483865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofstormsandwolves/pseuds/ofstormsandwolves
Summary: Campbell has a hospital appointment, and is surprised when Bella wants to come with. But a diagnosis doesn't exactly give him the relief he'd hoped for...





	Hey Jude

Campbell Bain sighed as he headed for the door of Rylands House. It was frankly too early on a Saturday morning to be heading out, but he knew his appointment couldn’t wait, and that his social worker would be angry if they arrived late.

He was halfway to the door, though, when he felt a hand slip into this. He blinked, frowned, and looked round to see a fully-dressed Bella grinning at him, her hand in his.

“Bella,” he managed through his surprise. “I’ve gotta go, I’ve got hospital. I did tell ye.”

“I know,” Bella grinned. “I’m coming with you.”

Campbell blinked again. In the three months since the pair had been friends, it had quickly become clear that Bella intended to stick by Campbell regardless of what his hospital visits amounted to. 

“But I might be getting diagnosed,” Campbell managed shakily. “Are ye sure ye want to be there for that?”

Bella’s hand remained in his. “Mrs Rogers said it was fine, and so did your social worker,” Bella told him, beginning to tug him towards the door. “An’ I thought you could use a friend today.”

“Aye,” Campbell managed faintly.

They were still without a diagnosis for his mental health problem, and while today could change that, it was reassuring to know that Bella wouldn’t run if and when they were able to put a label on Campbell’s problems.

And then, before Campbell could process much more of what was going on, he was in the back of his social worker’s car, Bella at his side.

“Ye alright, Campbell?” his social worker asked from the driver’s seat as he started the engine and pulled into the traffic.

“Aye, Eddie,” Campbell managed. “Absolutely fine.”

Eddie McKenna squinted at Campbell’s reflection in the rear view mirror for a few moments, clearly trying to work out if the teenager was lying. Then, he turned his attention to Bella.

“And you’re Bella, aye?” he asked. “Mrs Rogers said you wanted to come too. You Campbell’s girlfriend, then?”

The two teenagers spluttered at that, as Eddie indicated and turned a corner.

“Eddie! We’re just friends,” Campbell moaned. “I’ve only been at Rylands just over three months!”

“Aye,” Eddie agreed, “but whenever I’ve taken ye to hospital appointments or called to check in with ye, ye always mention that lass. Mrs Rogers mentioned the pair of ye are always hanging out together. I just thought that meant you were together.”

Bella and Campbell shared a slightly uncomfortable look at that. While they had known that they seemed very close (Gary and Terry often teased them and said they were a couple), the incident with Lee had made Bella wary about getting into another relationship so soon. Besides, they were perfectly happy just being friends.

“Do ye think I’m getting diagnosed today, Eddie?” Campbell asked suddenly, trying to change the subject. “They’ve done enough tests now, haven’t they? I won’t have to do any more tests?”

Eddie sighed. “I don’t know, Campbell. I’ve told ye, I’m not a doctor, I don’t know how long a diagnosis would take.”

Campbell huffed and slumped in his seat. Taking pity on him, Bella reached for his hand, squeezed it in hers. 

“What sort of tests do they even do?” she asked a little nervously. “Is it, like, brain scans and stuff?”

“Not really,” Eddie shook his head, stopping at a set of traffic lights. “Mostly they just ask Campbell questions. They’ve done one or two scans, to rule out certain things though.”

“So a diagnosis today isn’t particularly likely?” she asked as Campbell slumped even further down in his seat.

“I wish I could say it was, lass,” Eddie sighed, sparing a quick glance in the rear view mirror at the two teenagers, “but I have a feeling it might just be more tests.”

~0~0~

Campbell gripped Bella’s hand harder in his, glaring at the nurse all the while.

“I’m sorry, but she can’t come in. It’s just you and your social worker,” the nurse repeated again.

Eddie looked a little uncomfortable at that, and tried to cajole the nurse into making an exception.

“She’s not likely to tell anyone, is she?” he pointed out. “He just wants his friend in there for support. That lass is all he has.”

But the nurse stood her ground. “She’s not family, she can’t come in, Mr McKenna.”

Bella slumped, but forced a smile for Campbell’s sake. “It’ll be fine,” she told him. “Go on, with any luck they can diagnose you today.” She pulled her hand from his and nudged him towards the door of the doctor’s office.

Campbell blinked at her, expression forlorn, before looking to Eddie.

“Will ye be alright out here, Bella?” Eddie asked after a moment, sparing a brief glance around the hospital waiting room.

Bella nodded, forcing a smile and trying not to let on how nervous she was. They were at St Jude’s, the mental hospital Campbell had been referred to for his diagnosis. And while the staff seemed perfectly nice, the place was giving Bella the creeps. The sooner Campbell saw the doctor, the sooner they could get out of there.

Moments later, Eddie was steering Campbell into the waiting doctor’s office and Bella sank into an uncomfortable plastic chair. She picked at her nails, fidgeted, and eventually ended up scrutinising the posters on the cork board for something to do. Time ticked by and she was still waiting, still tense and still eyeing the other patients nervously.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the door to the doctor’s office was flung open and Campbell stormed out, looking enraged.

“Campbell,” Bella blinked at him as he stormed past her, “what-”

But before she could finish, he was gone, flinging open the doors of the ward and storming down the corridor. Bella blinked, trying not to take it personally, and instead turned to a nervous-looking Eddie.

“What happened?” she asked in confusion.

The man sighed, shoulders slumped as he stared at the doors Campbell had barrelled through. “We got a diagnosis.”

~0~0~

It was decided that it possibly wasn’t a good idea to take an extremely upset and angry Campbell back to Rylands House straight away, particularly when the likes of Gary and Terry would waste no time in trying to wind him up.

So instead, Eddie drove them aimlessly around south London while Bella tried to calm the teenager down.

“What the hell even is manic depression?” Campbell demanded angrily about ten minutes after they’d got him back into the car.

“You’d know if you’d listen to the doctor, Campbell,” Eddie pointed out calmly. “It causes mood swings, and is why you have periods of depression and mania, and why you don’t sleep very well. But they’ve given us a prescription for some medication for you to try, and-”

But Campbell was snorting before Eddie could finish. “Try? They cannae even guarantee the medication will work, Eddie! What fucking use is that?!”

“Language, Campbell,” Eddie berated with a sigh. “And I know it’s difficult, but the doctor did say there could be some trial and error with the medication.”

At that, Bella, who had been mostly silent, frowned and spoke up. “How come? Why can’t they guarantee the medication will work?”

“There’s lots of different medications for this sort of thing,” Eddie explained calmly, “and it could take a while to find the right one to work for Campbell. His manic depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in his brain, that’s why they did some of the brain scans before today, and because of that there are various medications that could work for him but might not be exactly right. The prescription we got today might be perfect, or it might not be quite what he needs and we need to try again.”

“But how long will that take?” Bella asked worriedly. “Are we talking weeks? Months? Years?”

She was vaguely aware she was squeezing Campbell’s hand tight, and considering she was meant to be calming him, she probably wasn’t helping the situation. But she couldn’t help it. Campbell was upset, distraught by what the doctors had told him, and she was beginning to feel the same way.

“He’ll need to be on this medication for a few weeks,” Eddie admitted carefully, “during which time Campbell’s mood swings will be monitored, and then they’ll be able to make the decision whether to keep Campbell on the current medication, or to try him on a different one.”

“So it could take years,” Bella concluded bluntly. “Years of trial and error. Is this because we’re in care? Is that it? If Campbell’s parents were here, kicking up a fuss, would things be different? Or are they just writing him off because he’s in the foster care system?”

Her voice had risen to a shout, Bella realised, and Campbell had been oddly quiet for some while. Eddie just stared at the pair of them sadly in the rear view mirror.

“We’ll get to the bottom of it,” he managed after a long moment. “I’m not going to let Campbell slip through the net, even if it means years of fighting for him to be put on the correct medication. His parents aren’t here, but I am, Bella. I promise you that.”

The rest of the ride back to Rylands was made in silence.


End file.
